


Bedtime Story

by LightRedFox



Category: Splatoon
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Sharing a Bed, Storytelling, avi is mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26732269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightRedFox/pseuds/LightRedFox
Summary: Skull shares a story to help Headphones sleep.
Relationships: Headphones/Skull (Splatoon)
Kudos: 12
Collections: CoroikaCollection





	Bedtime Story

Headphones flicked the large lamp on, a blue glow lighting up the otherwise dark room, bathing the area with a somewhat serene and calming ambience. She gave a satisfied smile and headed over to the bed in the middle of the room, taking her signature headgear off and placing it by the bedside table. Skull followed with a similar action, yanking his bandana and hair tie off easily, and setting them down right next to his partner’s headphones.

He climbed into the bed first, sliding underneath the sheets and lifting the blanket up so that the unoccupied area was left uncovered. He waited for Headphones to lay down next to him before throwing the blanket over her, the blue inkling snuggling up to him immediately.

“Tired?” The purple inkling asked, wrapping his arms around her.

“A little.” She replied, brushing away her hair from her face, the long tentacles colored a deep blue and fading into purple at the tip.

“My arms are kinda sore, but my mind is still wide awake.”

“Do you need a massage?”

“No, it’s kinda too late for that. Besides, it usually goes away by the morning.”

Skull’s eyebrows (or lack thereof) furrowed as he stared at her, chewing his lip in thought.

“Hm. How about I read you a bedtime story?”

“A story?” She giggled softly. “Skull, I’m not sure if that would put me to sleep; I’m not a four year old.”

“Sorry, it was just a suggestion to throw out.” 

“Don’t be. I didn’t say no, did I?” She played with the smaller tentacles at the back of his neck, flicking them to watch them jiggle in place.

“I’m kind of interested now, didn’t take you for a storyteller.”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about a certain one for a while. I’ll try to tell you all about it.”

Headphones cuddled up to his neck, the warmth emanating from his body making her feel all tingly inside.

“...Once upon a time,” Skull began, softly whispering the words to the inkling curled up against his body. “there was a big, purple dragon.”

“Purple?” A pair of eyes peeked up at him curiously.

“Yes, purple. The color isn’t important, I just threw it in there.”

“Suuuuuuuuure.”

“Anyway, there was a dragon who lived inside a huge castle, in the middle of a forest, far away from any kingdom or town. In the castle along with the dragon was a witch and a dog. They all lived together peacefully, with not much disturbance. There were a few annoying bandits now and then who’d try to break in, but they were easily dealt with.”

“The dragon and the witch got along very well, because they discovered they were both extremely skilled in magic. They bonded over that, and grew extremely close. Together, they practiced and refined their magic. Day after day, they continued to master the craft, always working together; they were almost inseparable at one point.”

“But then…..one day, the witch decided he wanted to leave the castle, to go to a much farther place to practice his magic even more. He wanted to bring the dragon and dog with him, but the dragon got upset. He didn’t want to leave, and the dog didn’t either, so they fought. The dragon and witch ended up saying a lot of bad things to each other they didn’t mean, and in the end, the witch left the castle on bad terms with the dragon, never to be seen again.”

“When the witch left...well, the dragon was left feeling very, very sad. It was like a hole had been ripped into his heart, and even though they were both in the wrong, he regretted everything he said. Even when the dog did it’s best to comfort him, the dragon missed the witch endlessly.”

Skull paused for a bit to gather his thoughts, perhaps thinking about what to say next.

“...So what happened?”

“The dragon did his best to forget about the witch. He focused on his magic, throwing himself into mastering it, trying to become the best in his craft. He neglected his surroundings, leaving the multiple rooms and halls of the castle to collect dust despite the dog’s best efforts. Eventually, word spread of a powerful dragon dwelling in a castle, and hundreds of brave knights trying to prove their strength flocked to the castle to try and slay the dragon. Of course, they were all met with swift defeats, but each knight that he defeated brought two more, each trying to prove their worth.”

“It went on for a long time, just an endless cycle of the dragon defeating wave after wave of knights. The dragon didn’t mind at first, as it gave him something to keep his mind on, but he quickly grew bored. He felt as if everything he did was pointless, and that there was no real reason for him to continue living. The dog provided him company, but he couldn’t help but feel as if something was missing. He was lonely….so very lonely. Until one day, someone unexpected came to the castle. It was a princess.”

“The princess didn’t come to fight the dragon, instead she came because she was curious about him and his magic. She wanted to learn how to use it, just like him. The dragon was intrigued by her confidence, and wanting a new change of pace, allowed her to stay and learn from him.”

“Of course, he didn’t hold back in his teachings. The dragon made sure that she pushed herself to her limits in her pursuit of knowledge, but the princess was resilient, and was determined to master magic. They trained together endlessly, and bonded the entire time. Outside of learning magic, they also helped each other out in different ways.”

“The princess helped the dog take care of the castle by cleaning and organizing the long neglected rooms. She even made the dragon do the chores and cleaning he hadn’t been bothered to do in years due to his misery, and soon enough the castle was no longer falling apart. Meanwhile, the dragon comforted the princess and sent encouragement her way whenever she was feeling down, making sure she was never left feeling sad by the end of the day. He also showed her the sky in their spare time, taking her to locations she would have only ever dreamed of visiting.”

“After all they had been through, the dragon couldn't help but fall in love with the princess. He cared deeply for her, but these feelings also frightened him. He was afraid she’d be disgusted with him and run away, never to be seen again, just like how he had lost the witch. The dragon didn’t want things to change, so he kept quiet about his love for her, simply praying that she would never leave. After all, what kind of princess could love a dragon?”

Skull paused again to catch his breath, and this time Headphones remained silent, invested in his story.

“Then one fateful day, his worst fear came true. The princess told the dragon she wanted to go back to her kingdom and show off the magic she had learned. Of course, the dragon was against it, crying out that he wanted to be by her side forever. He proclaimed his love, hoping that it would be enough to get her to stay. The princess was surprised, and confessed her love for him as well, but instead of agreeing with the dragon, her resolve to go back to her kingdom didn’t waver. She explained that it was wrong for people who truly loved each other to hold each other back, or to force them to do things against their wishes. The dragon could remain in the castle if he so wished, but she wasn’t going to stay.”

“It was then that the dragon finally realized how selfish he was being, trying to get the princess to stay with him. The reason he had refused to leave the castle was because that was where he had been the happiest, and the dragon had been trying so hard to get back the past happiness he had felt with the witch, that he was blinded to his mistakes in the present.”

“In the end, he and the dog decided to leave the castle forever, and go to the kingdom to live with the princess. He finally came to terms with the fact he would never get the happiness he felt with the witch in the castle back, but he would forever be filled with the happiness being with the princess gave him.”

“The end.” Skull breathed out, slightly out of breath and voice full of emotion. He looked down at Headphones to gauge her reaction, her face neutral and thoughtful.

“...Wow. That was a lot. Though I have a question about the ending.”

“What about it?” He cocked his head to the side.

“Did the dragon turn into a handsome prince?” She asked jokingly, and he chuckled in response.

“Of course not. The dragon wasn’t under a curse or anything, he was a dragon from the start. Despite that, the princess fell in love with him anyway, and it made the dragon happier than he had been in ages.”

“But didn’t you say the dragon could never replace the witch with the princess?”

“It’s kinda like an injury. It heals eventually, but is never the same. Maybe the dragon originally wanted the princess to be a replacement for the witch, but she helped the dragon realize he didn’t need to find a way to get his old, undamaged heart back, he just needed someone to help patch his current heart back up.”

“I think I get it.” She smiled at him softly. “One last question though...did you really come up with that all by yourself?”

“...No, Avi helped me.” Skull admitted. “He was the one who wrote most of it actually, I just wanted to be the dragon. He was also the one who added the dog.”

“I figured as much.” She giggled before letting out a small yawn.

“I guess story time worked after all.”

“I guess…” Headphones let out another yawn, leaning against him as he held her close to his chest.

“Well, thank you for reading me such a nice story.” The blue inkling mumbled as she curled up against him, eyes fluttering shut. He pressed a few kisses to her forehead and cheeks before nuzzling the tip of their noses against each other.

“Goodnight, Skull.”

“Goodnight, my princess.”


End file.
